I love cake, dessert, and eating every part of the process from cake mix to just beaten butter and sugar and spoonfuls of frosting! This page is to share pics of my favourite recipes and give a helping hand to anyone with a baking disaster, as I so often experience these melt downs too! :) enjoy xx

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Thursday, April 29, 2010

To clarify things this is not made with guinness! After a crazy night out last Friday night at the Relaunch of Upstairs at The Roundy , I decided to make a cake in honour of the shot we were drinking for the whole night :) I must have had 12 of the things and I was working haha. The shot is Tia Maria with a Bailey's head on it, so I made a Coffee cake with Bailey's Buttercream Icing... preeeetty good if I say so myself :)

Dissolve the coffee and leave to cool. Beat the butter vanilla and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift in the flour & cocoa and pour in the coffee mix, then beat gently in. Transfer to a greased and lined tin (20cm) and bake @ 180C for 20-25mins

Serious lack of posting lately!! Been up the walls making birthday and confirmation cakes, and they've all been chocolate mayo based so I havent been posting any new recipes :( But hey I'm not complaining, people are loving my cake so life is good!

Choc Melting Moments are little chocolatey "shortbread-like" biscuits that melt in your mouth and are so delicious with a glass of milk :)

Cream the butter and add all the dry ingredients. Beat together and add a little bit of cream to bring the mixture together. It will seem pretty crumbly and dry but keep beating :) Make small balls, put them on an baking tray(ungreased). Flatten down with a fork and bake for 10-12 mins @170C.

Monday, April 12, 2010

This was one of the things that always worked when I first started baking, no matter what I messed up or what turned out completely wonky, my flan's always saved the day :) Made this for the first BBQ of the year on Sunday, it was a glorious day with glorious food and company! Oh and lots of sparkling wine.. Yay!! The only chance I got to get a pic was when it was half devoured haha

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Usually when making a birthday cake for my dad, it involves coffee, hazelnut and chocolate, but this year he wanted something different, something zesty for spring! He even suggested lemon meringue pie himself........ suited me that I didn't have to come up with the idea this time! :)

I used Rachel Allen's recipe for Seville Orange Meringue Pie, but replaced the orange curd with my own homemade Lemon Curd and it turned out wonderfully , if I do say so myself haha

Recipe:Sweet Shortcrust Pastry300g plain flour, 150g butter, 1tbsp icing sugar, 1egg and a tiny dash o milk
Whizz the flour sugar and butter in a food processor until it looks like breadcrumbs. Beat the egg and the little bit of milk and add to the flour mix. Whizz briefly again until it just about comes together. Flatten the mix into a ball of dough and wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge to chill for 30mins.

Lemon Curd150g caster sugar, 75g butter, juice and rind of 3 lemons, 2 eggs + 1egg yolk
Put the sugar butter juice and rind in a pot over a low heat, until the butter is melted. Beat the eggs and extra yolk together and pour into the sugary mixture in the pot. MAKE SURE ITS LOW HEAT OR YOU'LL HAVE LEMON SCRAMBLED EGGS :) :) Keep stirring until it thickens and when its done it'll coat the back of a teaspoon. Set aside and leave to cool slightly

Meringue Top4egg whites and 225g Caster sugar
In a spotless bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff, then beat in the caster sugar bit by bit until stiff peaks form. When the meringue is whisked enough you should be able to turn the bowl upside down and it'll stay in it. I like to do this over my brothers head haha as you can see!!

Preparing the Pie
Grease a tart dish, and line with the pastry. Bake blind for 20 mins at 180C. Then turn down the oven to 150C. Pour the lemon curd onto of the par baked pastry, and spoon the meringue on top. Smooth the meringue, and with a knife use a dabbing technique to create peaks. Bake for a further hour at the lower temperature. Serve warm or room temperature and obviously with a bit of whipped cream :) YUMMO!

What a great time of year :) Spring is really setting in, the evenings are getting bright and you can eat chocolate ALL day without feeling bad! (well maybe a little bit bad but sure....who cares!)

I made these Easter cupcakes using the chocolate mayo recipe, as usual, cuz I love love love it! I topped them with bright yellow vanilla butter icing, crushed Cadbury's flake and Cadbury's mini eggs. These are the best cupcakes I think I have ever made... they were delish !